1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of soft tops for sport utility and similar vehicles and more particularly to the field of such tops with removable window and other panels.
2. Discussion of the Background
Vehicle soft tops with removable window and other panels are very popular as they offer the user many options. When in place, the panels serve to protect the user and contents of the vehicle from the elements and when removed allow the user to fully enjoy an open air experience and to readily see and retrieve objects in the vehicle. Such panels are commonly secured in a removable manner to the deck or main body of the soft top with zippers on the sides of the panel. Although zippers are relatively easy to operate, they add expense to the top and can create undesirable waves in the panel, particularly window panels that have a clear plastic film.
More specifically, such removable panels typically have zippers along at least two of their sides and it often occurs that the two zippers are not perfectly aligned or oriented. Consequently, they do not cooperate together as intended to evenly tension the panel so it will lie flat. This can be due to a number of factors including wear and exposure. It can also be a result of the tracks of each zipper not being originally attached (e.g., sewn) in exact alignment with each other or exact orientation with the tracks of the other zipper. As indicted above, the attached panel then does not lie flat and waves or undulations are created in it which are particularly noticeable in the clear film of a window panel. Such waves detract not only from the overall appearance of the top but also from the viewing through the window panel. With panels secured to the main body of the soft top by three or more zippers along their sides, this problem is only compounded.
With this and other problems in mind, the present invention was developed. In it, an attaching arrangement is provided to easily and quickly secure a removable panel in place with reduced risk that undesirable waves or undulations will be created.
This invention involves a vehicle soft top with a main body and removable panels. Each panel is at least partially received in a conforming cutout section in the main body. Each panel has a plurality of sides with the upper side preferably secured to the upper side of the cutout section by a pair of interconnecting, sliding members. The interconnecting members have mating hook portions that can be aligned with one another and slid axially relative to each other to hold the upper sides of the panel and main body together. A zipper is preferably used to secure second sides of the panel and cutout section together and the remaining sides are preferably secured together with either belt and channel arrangements or additional zippers.
In use, each removable panel can be easily and quickly secured in place by initially aligning and axially sliding the mating hook portions on the upper sides of the panel and cutout section relative to each other. With the upper sides held together, the zipper along adjacent second sides of the panel and cutout section can be closed. In one embodiment, the third and fourth sides of the panel are then respectively secured by belt and channel members to a vertically extending section of the door frame and a horizontally extending section of the vehicle. In doing so, the interconnecting members along the upper sides of the panel and cutout section are free to axially slide relative to each other in response to uneven tensions or forces created in the panel during the attachment of the remaining sides. The result is that undesirable waves or undulations that often occur in conventional panels (because the upper sides of the panel and cutout section are fixedly secured to each other as by a zipper) are eliminated or at least greatly reduced. Additionally, the assembly and disassembly time and effort to insert and remove the panel are simplified and cost savings are realized in eliminating a zipper along the upper sides of the panel and cutout section. Such advantages are also realized in other embodiments of the present invention that slidably attach the upper sides of the panel and cutout section together but use attachments other than belt and channel members along the remaining sides.